


Externalized Homophobia

by Qaroll



Series: How the Devil Shed Skin [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: "Kill the Gays" Talk, Big Dick Mystic, Gen, He Will End This With a Whisper To Your Wife, Homophobia, Human Shed Skin, Known to Hypnotize, Locker Room, Locker Room Talk, Male Locker Room Talk, Mar Qaroll, The Molt Series, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 09:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22153654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qaroll/pseuds/Qaroll
Summary: [Oneshot]The guys in the locker room have offended Jean in a way only Celezar is aware of.
Series: How the Devil Shed Skin [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574443
Kudos: 2
Collections: Stories by Mar Qaroll





	Externalized Homophobia

There were times when Celezar was thankful he decided to take male form. Since he joined the Lowell Hunters, he had several times to mentally appreciate his choice. For one, if he _had_ decided to take female form, he never would have been reunited with the family that he loved so many decades ago; the Lowells only took men into their group. Granted, the family wasn't as virtuous as they used to be, but that was another topic entirely.

More than anything, if Celezar was honest with himself, he liked the human body. It took around a decade as a human for him to acknowledge it, but he had no such problems with that, anymore. It didn't matter how the body was made or what it looked like, within reason. He enjoyed gazing at it, and while he couldn't on normal occasions, he also enjoyed the feel of it, the textures, the smells. It was a private little thing...

...a private little thing that he kept in check while in the locker room of the Cellar.

"Oi, Celezar. Where're your eyes looking?"

Or so he tried to.

He glanced away from the other man's nude body, focusing back on his locker and his clothes within. "Nothing," he said casually, taking his shirt and pants into hand. "Just wondering why your dick's so big. There should be a limit to those things, yeah?"

The men within the locker room chortled and laughed appropriately. He relaxed. He said the right thing.

Raphael chuckled, a sly, self-satisfied expression growing on his face. He pulled on his boxer shorts. "That jealousy I hear?"

"Could be." Hugh scoffed, shaking his head as he opened his locker. "Better be."

Rolling hazel eyes, Raphael sat on his bench. "This isn't about you, man."

The brunet made a face that Celezar caught. "I'm just saying."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Celezar asked, buttoning his shirt.

"Don't mind him," said Butch with a heavy sigh. He was nearly fully dressed and bent over on his bench, lacing his boots. "He's an adnuntor at heart."

Celezar's eyes widened at the slur, and a loud, amused sound arose from the others.

Hugh made a face at the older man, then waved a hand to and addressed Celezar. "Listen. I simply don't think it's right for gays to be in locker rooms. Change in the stalls or something."

"Is that it?" Butch scoffed softly.

"Shut up, Butch."

Robin, who was also nearly dressed, pulled on a watch. "Are you saying Musa is homosexual?"

Hugh shook his head. "Musa is religious. I can respect that." He returned to his locker to take out his gear. "Gays have issues that are outside of religion."

"What's that, then?" Musa himself asked, hands on his sides as he stood, fully clothed, in the doorway of the locker room.

Huffing, Hugh muttered, "Do I even need to say it?"

Looking between everyone, Musa leaned in the doorway and asked, "How did this conversation even start? Do I _want_ to know?"

Raphael pulled on his pants, grinning widely. "Celezar was looking at my dick."

Shaking his head, Musa left the bathroom, muttering something underneath his breath about modesty.

"I wasn't." Celezar buttoned his pants, then sat down to lace his boots. "I just noticed it. How the hell can you not?"

Breaking out into laughter, Raphael seemed to find all of this supremely entertaining.

"Whatever. Just so long as you're not gay." Hugh, almost done dressing, fished his gun from his locker and rested it in its holster at his hip. Before anything else could be said, he raised a hand. "That's just _my_ opinion, _my_ take on it." Glaring at Butch, he said, "I'm _not_ an adnuntor."

Once more, the older man scoffed, but said nothing else about it.

"I just happen to sympathize with them a bit."

Robin, Butch and Raphael made a sound of discontent, eyes rolling and waving hands at him. "Fuck you, Hugh," said Robin, giving the finger.

Ignoring him, Hugh continued, "Even if I was, I'm not the type that would go around killing gay people."

As if on cue, Jean entered the locker room from the bathroom. He glanced up at everyone, then continued through to his locker at the end of the row. He remained quiet as conversation continued.

"I feel you would," said Raphael with a wide, pearly-white smile.

"Fuck _you_ ," Hugh spat. "I kill inhumans, not people."

Butch made a face, now simply staying to finish the conversation. "Well, we've all had to kill a human at least once. It comes with the job."

"But not for reasons like that! For things _far_ worse than that!"

"So, there _is_ something wrong with being gay!" said Robin, brows furrowed. "You're a trip. Learned something about you I really didn't want to know."

Hugh gave him a look. "What, are _you_ gay?"

"No! That's not the point!"

As the conversation continued, Celezar shook his head and finished dressing. He caught a glance of Jean as he looked up. His leader's jaw was locked, his movements stiff. He looked entirely uncomfortable, and failing to fully hide it, ignoring everyone inside. Something Celezar had noticed the day he met the man told him Jean's discomfort had little to do with the fact they were talking about killing people. Only a specific kind of people.

Quiet, Celezar observed his leader with a slight look of concern. If Jean had noticed, he didn't act like it, silently closing his locker and leaving out the other exit. Once he was gone, Celezar's shoulder slightly slumped. Telepathy wasn't needed to figure out what had happened.

And if he was honest about it...it left him feeling pretty lousy.


End file.
